These gnocchi are soft sweet potato pillows – oh yeah they certainly are. The addition of the ricotta and using as little flour as possible is key. Bathing in a creamy sauce with a little bit of cheese makes for a fantastic dinner. Also wonderful as a side dish.
Prep Time30 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Servings: 2people
Author: Marinka
Ingredients
For the gnocchi
1sweet potatoabout 8 ounces cooked
1/2 cupricotta cheese
2tablespoonsParmigiano Reggiano cheesegrated
1/2 cup all-purpose flour(more for dusting)
1/2teaspoonsagechopped
salt and pepper
For the Cheese Sauce
1cupcream
1ounceGruyere Cheesegrated
salt and pepper
nutmegoptional
Instructions
Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Prick the sweet potato a few times with a fork in order to ensure the potatoes won't burst during the long bake time by providing steam vents.
Place a sheet of kitchen towel in your microwave to catch the juices that may drip from the sweet potato during baking. Place the sweet potato on the kitchen towel and bake for approx. 7 minutes. (NOTE 1)
Allow the sweet potato to cool and scoop the flesh in a bowl. Discard the skin. Add ricotta, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, sage, salt and pepper. Mix until relatively smooth.
Add the flour, first 1/4 cup and after that a tablespoon at a time. Knead the dough, but don't overdo it. You need to end up with a cohesive mix that simply holds together, that's all. Add as little flour as possible. (NOTE 2)
Shape the dough in a ball and return to the bowl. Place the bowl in the fridge for a couple of hours. It will be easier to make the gnocchi from cooled dough than from warm dough.
Transfer the dough to a clean, floured kitchen counter. Cut the ball in 4 pieces and start to roll each 1/4 ball into a rope of 1.5 inches thick.
Cut the rope in 1-inch pieces, your gnocchi are here!
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add the gnocchi in portions to the boiling water. When the gnocchi rise to the top of the water, they're done. Use a slotted spoon and transfer the gnocchi to the baking sheet. Make sure the gnocchi are not piled on top of each other. Work on the rest of the gnocchi.
Cheese Sauce
Pour the cream in a skillet and warm it up.
Add the grated Gruyere cheese, salt and pepper and make sure the cheese melts. Continue stirring to prevent the cheese from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Add salt and pepper to taste and if you like a pinch of nutmeg.
Assembly
Transfer the gnocchi from the baking sheet into the cheese sauce. Heat for a few minutes and divide over 2 plates or bowls.
Sprinkle with some chopped sage and Enjoy!
Notes
Depending on your microwave, you may have a setting for baked potato or may be even for sweet baked potato. Follow the directions of your microwave as to how long to bake them. My microwave has a Sweet Baked Potato setting which means approx. 5 minutes in the microwave and then 10 minutes wrapped in aluminum foil.
Flour will make the gnocchi firmer and heavier and you want the opposite - you want light, melt-in-you-mouth softness. Just enough flour, so the gnocchi does not fall apart while cooking.